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Representing the 3rd District of Kansas

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Yoder Statement on Administration's Announcement to Wind Down DACA Program

Sep 5, 2017

Press Release

Washington, DC – This morning, the Trump Administration announced that it is rescinding the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program with a six month wind-down period. Representative Kevin Yoder (R-KS) issued the following statement after the announcement:

"I have great sympathy for minors that were illegally brought to the United States through no fault of their own and who know no other country than the United States of America. We are a nation of immigrants. Yet, we are also a nation that values the rule of law, and President Obama’s DACA order was an unconstitutional abuse of executive authority. The Administration is right to restore proper balance of powers under our Constitution.

"I opposed President Obama's ‘temporary stopgap measure’ as he called it five years ago - in which he said ‘this is not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship’ - because it would leave many undocumented immigrants in limbo, with no real status. That has now proven to be the case.

"While the program may have been conceived with good intentions, it has served as a magnet, bringing tens of thousands of new immigrants, exacerbating our illegal immigration challenges, and creating a humanitarian crisis at the border.

"The President has given Congress a six-month window to act on immigration reform, and that's exactly what we should do. We must secure our borders, repair our broken visa program, and provide needed reforms and certainty and stability for minors. We must pursue policies that are both compassionate and restore the rule of law in our country.

"I do not favor deporting 'dreamers' but their status is a decision that can only be made by an act of Congress and should be one that improves our legal immigration process and secures our border. Otherwise we will be left with a piecemeal mess, which is what we have on our hands today.”